


a house is not a home

by TFLatte



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Found Family, Gen, Mild Angst with a happy ending, Post-Canon, no spoilers as far as i know, some emotional neglect, surprise (unofficial) adoption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-01
Updated: 2017-03-01
Packaged: 2018-09-27 15:00:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10027019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TFLatte/pseuds/TFLatte
Summary: The Bureau of Balance isn't needed anymore, and Angus goes home.





	

**Author's Note:**

> All I'm saying is that there has to be a reason a ten year old kid has been living on the MOON with no legal guardian in sight.

Angus, standing in the corner of the hangar, watches as Bureau members fill the room, all waiting to get the next balloon down to Faerun. He’s never seen a pileup like this before, but now that everyone’s leaving to go back to whatever life they had before they were recruited, it’s overwhelming.

Angus isn’t one of the members who’s staying behind to dismantle the moon base. He offered, but the Director just chuckled and told him “That won’t be necessary, but thank you, Angus. You should go home along with everyone else.”

 _This is a good thing_ , Angus tells himself. The Grand Relics are gone, the Hunger is destroyed, the world is safe. The Bureau of Balance isn’t needed anymore. That’s _good_. And he is happy about it, but-

He doesn’t want to go home. His suitcase sits next to him, larger than he is and stuffed full of all the things he brought with him when he was recruited. There hadn’t been anyone to ask him why he was taking the biggest suitcase he could find or what he was packing for. The house was empty all the time, Angus alone except for the rare occasions when his uncle came home for a few days, and even then they almost never exchanged more than a few sentences. Angus had learned quickly that whatever he tried to talk about, all he would get was the occasional vague, tuneless hum. It wasn’t that his uncle was mean, just…uninterested. He made sure Angus had everything he needed and then left him to his own devices. Sometimes they didn’t even see each other when he was home.

Angus takes a breath. It will be fine. He’ll go home and go back to school and it’ll even be harder for other kids to pick on him now that he’s started learning magic, even though he’ll need to look for a new teacher. There won’t be people stealing his books in the library or complaining about having to talk to him or giving him baking advice or grumping noisily while they buy him ice cream-

Angus swallows a lump in his throat, glancing around to make sure nobody’s looking before he pushes his glasses up to wipe his stinging eyes. He hasn’t actually seen the Reclaimers all week, they’re apparently very busy wrapping things up. It seems a little unfair to Angus that they have more to do after they saved the world, but he thinks that might just be because he has to go, and he hasn’t said goodbye.

He dawdles in the hangar as long as he can. Killian and Carey spot him on their way out and come over, Killian ruffling his hair as he protests and telling him to keep in touch. NO-3113 hugs him, infinitely careful of her own strength. Even Johann pauses to say goodbye. Eventually the rush thins out and Angus can’t delay any more, so he makes his way across the hangar.

Avi sees him coming and hurries over, taking the suitcase. “Heading home, huh Angus?” he asks cheerfully.

“Yes, sir.” Angus doesn’t really want to start talking about home right now. “Are you leaving soon?”

“Eventually!” Avi grins at him. “Someone’s gotta send the rest of them home, right?”

“Yes sir, that is a very important job!” His smile is a little more genuine as he hops into the bubble. Avi pushes the suitcase in with him.

“Well, listen, you keep in touch, alright?” Angus gives Avi a thumbs up and the cannonball closes around him.

Home or not, it’s still pretty cool to watch the ground fly past under his feet.

* * *

 The house hasn’t changed at all. His room is untouched, a layer of dust over everything. Angus opens the door just a crack, squeezing in and shutting it after him. When he turns to investigate the floor, he sees immediately that the dust in front of the door is untouched except for his own footprints. Nobody has come into the room or even opened the door since he left. There’s no one there to hear his three attempts to hoist the suitcase up the stairs, or to interrupt as he finally gives up and starts carrying armfuls of clothes and books back to his room.

When he first arrived on the moon (and just the thought still gives him a thrill) it had been weeks before Angus fully unpacked. He’d had such exciting work to do, so many people to meet, and most importantly so much new information to sort through that he’d go to put away his things and get sidetracked by someone looking for him or an important thought he’d had before he got more than a few pieces of clothing into a drawer.

He re-folds his clothes neatly as he puts them all away, remembering how that first night he’d opened his suitcase looking for his jammies and found every carefully packed item in disarray. Luckily his books had all survived intact, though some of them he’d had to flatten out again. This time he’d packed a lot more carefully, but everything was still rumpled, from the flight and the rest of his trip back. Clothes finished, he starts on his books, inspecting each one carefully before shelving it. The rest of his things are easy enough to deal with. Toothbrush in the bathroom, hairbrush on the dresser, glasses case on the nightstand, and so on. Last of all is his Stone of Farspeech. Angus sits on the bed and looks at it for a long time. Then he quietly tucks it into his pocket and goes downstairs to get dinner.

* * *

 Two weeks and Angus has settled back into a quiet routine. On his desk is a list of possible magic tutors, but none of them seem quite right yet. He hasn’t found any new cases to occupy himself either, but something will come up eventually, he’s sure. He’s also taken to keeping the stone in arms’ reach – just in case – though he hasn’t quite worked up the courage to make any calls himself.

Rain is pouring outside and Angus is happily dry inside. The moon base was certainly exciting, but he did miss things like weather. It’s put him in just the right mood to reread some Caleb Cleveland novels, looking for clues he missed the first (and second, third, and sometimes fourth) time he read them.

Engrossed in the stack of books on his bed and with rain in his ears, Angus has tuned out the world entirely, and so he doesn’t notice the sound of someone knocking on the door. The third time it happens he’s just becoming aware of a noise when a much closer one sounds from the stone on his nightstand.

“Agnes, I swear to god, if this rain ruins my hair I will kick your little ass, open the door already!”

Angus grabs for the stone so frantically he slips off the bed. Scrambling back to his feet he snatches it up as he pelts out of the room and down the stairs. “Sorry sir I didn’t hear you I’m coming down right now just a second!” He nearly trips, rights himself, and finally skids to a stop in front of the door, yanking it open to the sight of three wonderfully familiar figures. “Hello sirs I’m sorry! I didn’t know you were coming!”

Taako brushes past him the minute he opens the door. “Finally! Honestly, Ango, it’s rude to keep guests waiting, didn’t we teach you better than that?” He shakes his head, giving Angus a deeply disappointed look as he shakes rain off the Umbra Staff onto the floor.

“Um, actually when I came to my magic lessons you were usually late,” Angus can’t help but point out. Taako waves a hand dismissively and scoffs as Angus steps aside to let Magnus and Merle in. Magnus gives him a secretive grin that sets Angus’ detective senses off, and Merle – well, Merle looks like he usually does when he has to talk to Angus. But he came to visit too, so it’s okay. Angus leads them into the sitting room and Magnus plops down onto a couch, still dripping. Angus winces a little, but he can probably dry that later. Taako zones in on the comfiest chair and sprawls into it. Merle picks the closest one and Angus hops into one that lets him see them all. “It’s great to see you again, sirs, how have you all been?”

“Good, good, taking a we-saved-the-world break from things, you know.” Angus nods at Magnus, beaming.

“If anyone’s earned it you have! I’ve been – well, getting back to things! Looking for cases to solve, you know!”

“Yeah, whatever, so listen, you kinda ditched us back on the moon base, what was that about?” Taako frowns at him.

Angus blinks. “I…went home? I’m sorry, I didn’t find you anywhere and I thought you were too busy with things to come say goodbye. Is that why you came?” Angus pauses. “Also how did you even find me?”

“Listen, don’t worry about it, it’s fine.” Angus isn’t sure if Magnus means leaving without saying goodbye or how they found him. “We actually came because of a very important mission.” He leans forward on the couch. Angus sits bolt upright.

“A mission! Why didn’t you say so, sir, what do you need? What’s the mission, or is it need-to-know maybe? Whatever you can tell me will help!” His mind is already racing. Could it be another apocalyptic crisis? They don’t seem to be in any particular rush, but then again this _is_ a group whose priorities might not be completely straight. It’s probably not a threat to any of their lives specifically though, they don’t seem urgent enough for that-

“It’s a mission,” Taako says, “for the sake of life as we know it.” Magnus nods solemnly. Angus’ eyes widen.

“I’m listening very closely, sir! Should I take notes?” He reaches for the pocket of his vest where he keeps a little notebook.

“No, no, that won’t be necessary. See, our mission-” Taako stops for a dramatic pause. Angus appreciates the showmanship. “-is to steal you.”

Angus blinks.

“Excuse me?”

“We’re kidnapping you!” Magnus says cheerfully.

“…why is kidnapping me a matter of life and death, sir?”

Merle snorts. “Don’t get a big head, kid. He didn’t say life and death, he said life as _we_ know it.” He pauses, then adds a bit more gruffly “We’ve kind of gotten used to having a know-it-all little twerp around driving us crazy.”

“See, these last few months,” Magnus says, a little more seriously now, “I’ve been…kind of working on a place for the three of us for after we wrapped up with the Bureau. You know, somewhere comfy, turns out it’s not too far from where Killian and Carey are looking at places-”

“Personally I just don’t want to have to travel to teach you, talk about too much effort.” Taako shifts on his chair. Angus is pretty sure he shouldn’t physically be able to take up that much space, but he manages.

Merle glances at Taako and smirks, then leans forward and stage-whispers to Angus. “He’s been moping ever since Lucretia told him you’d already left the moon.”

“Oh, what!” Taako sits up, indignant, and points at Merle. “Who’s the one who asked his goddamned _god_ where we could find-”

“Because you two wouldn’t stop complaining about it-”

“Sure, and it had nothing to do with all those trips you started taking to see your kids-”

Magnus meets Angus’ gaze and rolls his eyes, smiling. Angus giggles.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Magnus says, cutting into the others’ bickering, “I’m not actually finished building the whole house yet, but it’s livable, and there’s a room for you too.”

Angus looks between them, his own smile fading to nerves. “You…really want me to come stay with you?”

Merle sighs loudly. “We just said that, pay attention.”

Taako shrugs. “Would we offer if we didn’t?”

“Probably?” Angus bites his lip. He knows what he wants. This house is empty and silent and _lonely_. “You’re sure, sirs? This really isn’t a goof?”

Merle groans loudly. “I vote we withdraw the offer on account of I don’t want to be hearing the same question a thousand times in my own home.”

“Overruled, I’m building it,” Magnus says.

Angus swallows a lump in his throat. Then he springs out of his chair to hug Magnus, on the basis that he’s the most likely to appreciate it anyway. Magnus’ still-wet clothes are cold, but he hugs Angus back.

Angus manages to turn his head so he can speak. “Can I pack my things before you kidnap me, sirs?”

* * *

Angus packs a lot faster than he unpacked. Periodically a voice will shout up at him, usually on the lines of “hurry up or we’ll leave without you” but he’s not worried. The stone in his pocket is a comforting weight and he’s already making plans about everyone he should call. Closing his suitcase, he pulls it out of his room and stops. He glances back down the stairs, then at his room, and sighs. Angus stands the suitcase upright and goes back into his room, pulling the notebook out of his pocket.

Five minutes later, he’s zipping up his raincoat and dragging the suitcase to the stairs. Three noisy thumps later, Taako sticks his head around the corner and casts Levitate. Magnus trots up the stairs and grabs the suitcase, Angus still clinging to it, and tows them both back down after him.

The front door closes, muffling four voices chattering loudly. Upstairs, Angus’ old room sits with the door shut. On the table, placed neatly under an old paperweight and bright against the wood, is a piece of paper with small, neat handwriting on it.

_Uncle,_

_If you’re reading this you’ve noticed I’m gone. I went to stay with some friends. They’ll take care of me. I have my Stone of Farspeech if you need me. Take care. I know you won’t worry._

_Sincerely,  
Angus_

**Author's Note:**

> magnus, the day before the boys show up at angus' house: hey do you think we should talk to angus' legal guardian before we ask him to come live with us  
> all: .........nah


End file.
